Autumn seems to be the top pick for couple's scheduling engagement shoots. The vast majority of weddings are held throughout the summer, so a moody autumn afternoon is a nice contrast to the bright flowers and long drawn out sunsets of an August evening. I love photographing in the fall. After the soft tones of summer, the darker, more somber hues of the changing foliage is a a welcome change. It's also just peaceful, isn't it? This amazing couple opted to do their engagement session deep in the woods; private, cozy and very intimate. The perfect setting to relax and be yourself.

I have to post this August session before we get too far away from the memory of summer -- how can it already be mid October? Autumn is a very busy season in the photography world, family photos in bright piles of leaves or hiding amid a pumpkin patch are among the top sought after scenes of the year. There's something cozy about fall that entices people to document it. But before all that I there was summer -- now i'm not the biggest fan of summer (i do not miss the weather in Brazil at all) but there is something so carefree and lazy about summer photos. perhaps it's the outfits, the light that seemingly never seems to fade or maybe it's the attitude that a balmy summer evening produces in people. In any case, here is my last post of our long gone summer, and who better to represent it than Model Baby himself. Beach photos taken at Hamlin State Park and the sunflowers at the farm on Clover Rd in Pittsford.

I love city shoots. An urban backdrop helps to tell your personal story, about where you're from, where you met or where you intend to make your future. The gardens at the George Eastman Museum are one of the top shooting locations inside the city of Rochester. The gardens and halls can actually be rented for an actual wedding, but the gardens are open to the general public for enjoyment. Nothing more enjoyable than a sunset engagement session between two lovebirds! Our second shoot location was at the Memorial Art Gallery Gardens. Enjoy this "practice" wedding e-session, and get ready to see this couple's big day this August!

Many expecting mothers tell me after their shoot that they were never planning on having a maternity shoot. While it seems like everyone does it based on Pinterest and the blog world, the reality is that only a very small percentage of mommies-to-be decide to step in front of the camera. Why? Sometimes it is cost (there are a lot of baby expenses racking up during this time!), perhaps a self consciousness of being pregnant; many women don't feel like themselves in their own alien body during pregnancy or maybe it's feeling like you shouldn't have the spotlight because after all there are thousands of babies born each day, right? All those doubts aside, what are the reasons for having one? The memory. Once your baby is born you will have them as a constant in your life, as they grow the once seeming colossal that was pregnancy will start to fade. You will slowly forget what it is that your body went through, a shoot is a beautiful physical reminder of what you did and who you were in that moment in time. Don't think you deserve the spotlight? Yes you do. There might be a thousand other pregnant women in your city but none of them have your baby inside of them. You can and should celebrate you and your babies closest time together. It is empowering. Pregnancy changes a lot of our favorite aspects of our bodies and more often than not grows self consciousness alongside that growing human. The truth is that pregnant women are beautiful, and while you might not see it everyone else does--and someday you might too. You might have another pregnancy in the future, but you might not. So live today like there isn't a second chance. And it doesn't hurt that your hair, skin and smile look extra glossy while pregnant ;)

Enjoy this sleepy NYC apartment shoot, my beautiful model happens to be a relative and has admitted that she never intended to do a shoot, but after my nudging is oh so very glad that she did. Live life without regrets, get your photo taken!

One thing I love about photographing babies is that I get to watch them grow. From infancy to one month to a year later. The change is incredible. But change doesn't end when babies grow up. Senior photos are the last sessions parents can (usually!) schedule for their children before they start to schedule their own shoots (engagement, wedding, children of their own, etc.) so it's an incredible moment to be part of, actually. Senior photos have gotten a bit of flack recently for being unnecessary, but the reality is that they are just as important as any milestone shoot. Seriously! I hated my senior portrait session, but I suppose that was simply for the fact that at the time (oh yeah 2004 was waaaaay back when) shoots were generally done in dark studios with really corny backdrops (yes i had fake Greek pillars in the background of mine). But the point is, senior photos are the documentation of the last time your baby really is, well, your baby. I'd like to share with you all a recent senior session I did with my little sister, G. I am the second oldest of six kids in my family, this is the third (and final) sister that I have had the pleasure to photograph during their senior year (bonus, no Greek pillars for them!) This is a winter session in the Pacific Northwest in a wetland nature park. While dark and somber (hello PNW) the low light helps set the tone of the location -- where she grew up, where she learned to be the person that will very soon be moving on to California and around the world to make her mark. So yeah, senior portraits are important, and the only rules (aside from getting them done during your senior high school year) is to be yourself.

It's very true. I miss Brazil. Cliches are cliches for a reason. You never know how much you love something, or how much you will miss something until after you let it go. Technically Brazil will never be out of my life as half of my family remain there, not to mention my husband is Brazilian. But moving on is always bitter sweet. Difficult. Lonely. We are happy in Rochester, NY, we have to look at change as an advernture and challenge. It's too easy when life is easy. Hello Rochester, I'll start with one look backward. A post that's been waiting in the wings. Right before moving we were visited by my little sister and her dear friend. Their Sampa and Rio tour acted double duty as our final Sampa and Rio tour. Sao Paulo, you are lovely. Also i'm a bit jealous that my senior portraits were at a dumpy dark studio and not, as is the case here, in the botanical gardens of Rio!